Marshall Circuit Judge Dennis Foust reset the re-trial date for George Luna to Jan. 7 after a Monday pre-trial conference.

According to Foust's order, medical issues with public defender Jamie Jameson prompted the reset.

Luna remains in the Marshall County Detention Center. He faces charges of murder for the 2007 death of Debbie Hendrickson. A jury convicted Luna in 2008, but an appellate court overturned the conviction in 2010. The court cited improper introduction of Hendrickson's pre-death statements as grounds for a retrial.

In May, Foust ordered the trial to be heard in Trigg County based on an inability to seat an impartial jury in Marshall County. The trial appeared on the Trigg docket on Oct. 8.

According to a motion filed by Jameson, he required an emergency surgical procedure to remove a tumor from his head. The procedure left him “physically, psychologically or ethically unable to represent Mr. Luna on Oct. 8.”

Jameson said a delay to February would likely leave him able to provide adequate defense for his client. Uncertainty about therapy and success of of the procedure left him uncertain if he would be able to argue the case at that point.

“The only way to ensure Mr. Luna is not deprived of due process is by permitting his counsel the time to be adequately prepared to defend him vigorously against these most serious of accusations with a clear mind,” Jameson said in his argument for a continuance.

In his first trial, the jury sentenced Luna to a term of life in prison.